Fence-post



' (No Model.)

I. L. LANDIS.

FENCE POST. No. 361,880. Patented Apr. 26, 1887."

WITNESSES Attorney NITED STATES Parent OFFICE.

FENCE -POST.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 361,880, dated April 26, 1887.

Application filed December 20, 1886. Serial No. 222,104. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ISRAEL L. LANDIS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Lancaster, in the county of Lancaster and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fence-Posts, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

My invention relates to an improvement in fence-rail supports, and in a novel means for connecting to such supports the rails, which will be fully understood from the following description, when taken in connection with the annexed drawings, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of a fencerail support, showing four rails rigidly secured to it, and indicating the support anchored in the ground. Fig. 2 is .a vertical cross-section of the same, indicating the rails when half spliced longitudinally. Figs. 3, 4, 5, and 6 show the clip-braces which I shall employ on the filling or spacing blocks between the rails and the supports.

Referring to the annexed drawings by letters, A designates a vertical fence-rail sup port, and B B designate several horizontal rails which are sustained thereby.

The main object of my invention is to dispense with wood posts, also costly metal posts, and to sustain the fence-rails B by means of a support which is formed of a single wire of a proper gage, which I prefer to galvanize. This support consists, essentially, of avertical upwardlytapering portion, formed by looping a single wire, as clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 2 of the annexed drawings, so that its limbs diverge from its connected upper end, a, downward to the angles 6 e, constituting an open or skeleton wedge. From the angles a e the wire branches outwardly and downwardly, forming obtuse-angular limbs b b, which I shall denominate the anchor-braces. The

termini of these braces are wrapped securely about anchor-blocks d d, buried a sufficient distance in the ground to sustain the fence and prevent upheaval by frost. The rails B may be united at their ends by the half-lapped splices, or in any other suitable manner. These splices occur between the limbs of the supports A, and they are rigidly bound together vertically and laterally by means of interposed spacing-blocks E, of equal or of different length, in combination with clasps or clips D, which are in a wedging manner driven down on the upwardly-tapered wire support A, and which may be made of wrought-iron or of malleable cast-iron. These clips or, more properly speaking, binders are constructed with one or more bracing tongues or extensions, F, formed integral with each one of them, which prevents the said spacingblocks from tilting or otherwise being displaced.

In Fig. 5 I have represented a modification of the block binders shown in Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 4, which consists in using a loop of bent wire, bent and twisted so as to embrace the support A, and also to affordbearingtongues f f for a spacing-block, E.

In Fig. 6 I show the clip formed of a square plate of metal bent so as to embrace and clasp the two limbs of the support and the spacingblock.

It will be observed from the foregoing that I have practically a tapered skeleton fence-rail post terminated by diverging anchor-braces formed of a single wire; also, that I combine with such a bracing-support fence-rails, spacing-blocks, and bracing and binding clips. WVhen these parts are put together, as shown in Fig. 1, the rails and blocks are all rigidly and securely locked by means of the wedge key K, driven between the lapped ends of the topmost rails and the upper end of the support a.

Having described my invention, I claim 1. In a fence-post, the combination of the supportA, anchored in the ground, substantially as described, with the fence-rails B, spacing blocks E, interposed between the rails and the limbs of the post, and thecbinding-clips D, embracing the limbs of the post and the spacing-blocks, and provided with tongues F, extending longitudinally of the post and serving to steady and hold the said spacing-blocks in place, substantially asidescribed.

2. In a fence-post, the support A, bent to In testimony whereof I affix my signature form an upwardly-tapering open wedge, and in presence of two Witnesses. having its lower extremities bent outwardly and united to suitable anchor-blocks, in com- ISRAEL L. LANDIS. 5 bination with the tie e, the fence-rails, the

spacing-blocks, the embracing-clips, and a Witnesses:

wedging-key, all arranged substantially as SAMUEL B. 00X,

described. DAVID L. DEEN. 

